kirsty's Orange January 2011

Hi, I'm Kirsty

This is my first year on the Orange thread.



These are the Orange Winners I've read:
Bel Canto: A Novel by Ann Patchett (2002)
On Beauty by Zadie Smith (2006)




and these are the other Orange books I've already read:

Five Quarters of the Orange by Joanne Harris (2002)
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd (2002)
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold (2003)
Brick Lane by Monica Ali (2004)
Notes on a Scandal by Zoe Heller (2004)
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger (2004)
Case Histories: A Novel by Kate Atkinson (2005)
Prep: A Novel by Curtis Sittenfeld (2006)
The Tenderness of Wolves: A Novel by Stef Penney (2007)
The End of Mr Y by Scarlett Thomas (2008) DNF
American wife : a novel by Curtis Sittenfeld (2009)
The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters (2010)
The Rehearsal by Eleanor Catton (2010)
Small Wars: A Novel by Sadie Jones (2010)
Accordion Crimes by Annie Proulx (1997)
Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood (1997)
The Magician's Assistant by Ann Patchett (1998)
The Weight of Water by Anita Shreve (1998)
The Poisonwood Bible: A Novel (P.S.) by Barbara Kingsolver (1999)
White Teeth: A Novel by Zadie Smith (2000)
Fingersmith by Sarah Waters (2002)
The autograph man : a novel by Zadie Smith (2003)
The Little Friend by Donna Tartt (2003)
Old Filth by Jane Gardam (2005)
The Night Watch by Sarah Waters (2006)
Digging to America: A Novel by Anne Tyler (2007)
The Observations by Jane Harris (2007)
The Outcast: A Novel (P.S.) by Sadie Jones (2008)
When We Were Bad by Charlotte Mendelson (2008)
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel (2010)

My favourite Orange reads to date are:
Bel Canto
Case Histories
The Lovely Bones

I haven't picked my Orange book for January yet. It is going to depend what I find in the library tomorrow.

I also really liked Bel Canto. I will be curious to know what you find at the library! =) ~Jill

Wow, you've read tons - no wonder the LT group finder suggested you come over here!

Was Prep as good as American Wife? I really liked that one.

@cmt - I was surprised. I had no idea so many of my reads would be on the long and shortlists. I thought American Wife was really great but Prep wasn't my cup of tea. Well written but I didn't like the characters.

I'm going to be reading Burnt Shadows by Kamila Shamsie.

This is Ralphy, my cocker spaniel, come to join the Orange fun.

OMG, how cute is Ralphy! Love the tongue!

Great picture... Ralphy looks adorable!

Overall, I liked Burnt Shadows so I look forward to seeing what you think of the book.

Just started Burnt Shadows today, so far so good.

Ralphy is certainly a cutie! Burnt Shadows looks interesting, looking forward to your thoughts.

Finished Burnt Shadows really enjoyed it. The story of three generations of two interlinked families moved from Nagasaki when the atomic bomb was dropped to post war Delhi, Istanbul, newly created Pakistan and finally post-9/11 New York.



Next Orange January read is The White Woman on the Green Bicycle.

And how did Ralphy like it? LOL.
I really liked Burnt Shadows, too. I thought the post-9/11 segment was the weakest, but still enjoyed it overall.

Ralphy makes the perfect book model!

Beautiful dog! If I make it to a third "Orange" title this month, Burnt Shadows will probably be that third book. (Or maybe fourth, if I dig The Lacuna out from the TBR mountain ranges.) Glad to see you liked it!

Glad to hear you liked Burnt Shadows!

The start of The White Woman on the Green Bicycle isn't what I expected. Not thrilled by it so far.

Finished The White Woman on the Green Bicycle, I didn't love the start. But it grew on me and I was gripped by the end. Set in Trinidad over a 40 year period the book starts at end of a marriage then goes back to the couples' arrival in Trinidad from England.

Keeping on the Orange January theme I'm now reading Orange author Anita Shreve's Testimony.

Look, it's Ralphy! So darn cute!

I love so much that you include a photo of Ralphy with each book! I'm glad The White Woman on the Green Bicycle grew on you; I'll keep it on my wishlist.

I LOVED White Woman on the Green Bicycle. I'm glad you did too!

Monique Roffey's novel is a favourite of mine as well. As you said, those opening pages are startling, but I think it's an indication of the author's skill, the way she jolts you into the story (and then pulls you further and further, in and in, and back and back).

I've enjoyed some of Anita Shreve's books more than others, but Testimony does sound intriguing!

I had to abandon The White Woman/Green Bicycle after the scene where she beat her dog. While I know it happens in real life, I simply can't stomach it in books.

#21 Exactly! How are you supposed to be sympathetic towards a character after they have done that? Ralphy gave it the paws down.

#20 Testimony is quite intriguing. The opening chapter is one where you hope the person sitting next to you on the train is not reading over your shoulder. Blush!

1st Feb = Orange January is over :(

Aptly enough I finished my last Orange read this morning.



Testimony by Anita Shreve. Anita Shreve is an Orange author for The Weight of Water. Testimony is set in an New England private school that suffers a sex scandal and the novel charts the fall out on those directly involved and those impacted by events. There are some similarities to Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld.

Thanks for participating! And for posting photos of Ralphy!